Locomotive cylinder and frame



Jan. 25, 1949. E. o. ELLIOTT LOCOMOTIVE CYLINDER AND FRAME 2 Sheets-Sheet,l

Filed Sept. 29, 1945 mrent or a w=wb 0. 6M

Jan. 25, 1949. E. o. ELLIOTT LC )GOMOTIVE' CYLINDER AND FRAME '2 Sheets-Sheet? Filed Sept. 29, 1945 built to my'knowledge. v I

Theobject of this invention is to incorporate Patented Jan. 25, 1949 UNITED STATE 5 o Fl I I 2,459,92e LOCOMQTIVE CYLINDER ANDFRAME Edward Q- Elli'ott, Jenk ntqwn Ba- Application September 29, 1945, Serial No. 612,379

This invention relates, generally to three cylindex: locomotives, but specifically to an integral cylinder and frame construction.

Various designs of three cylinder locomotives have been in use for many years, however several features have not been altogether satisfactory, this invention has been developed to overcome the prior objections. Oneof the most, valuable qualities of a properly designed three cylinder locomotive; which has not received sufficient at-.-. tention in the United States, in the past. is that there is no dynamic augment with its destruc tive action on the rails, when so designed. To accomplish this result the crank pins must be spa d at angl of 2 deer s nd the rec pr cating weights of the driving mechanism of all three cylinders must be equal. This is ably de-. scribed in W. E. Dalbys book on counterbalancmg.

Most, if not all, of the three cylinder locomotives built in theUnited States with n the last forty years have had. the three cylinders, located in approximately the sametransverse plane. This necessitated a relatively short connectin rod for the center cylinder and usually a kink'ed'front driving axle even when the cylinder was elevated and set on an angle.

I By locating the center cylinder well ahead of the two outside cylinders, Iovercome the objectlons above mentioned and at the same time obtain a much longer connecting rod whichapproxmates in weight the rods of the outside' cylinders,

thus assisting in providing theequallty of reciproeating weights desired. I

I'am aware of, the'fact that three-cylinderlocomotives with the center cylinder located ahead of the side cylinders have been designed, patented and built-heretofore. However most'of' them have been built in foreign countries, none to my knowledge in the United States. -'None of these were of integral construction although locomotive beds incorporating the third or center cylinder have been patented in the United States, but never in an integral construction the three cylinders, the 'centereylinder located well'ahead of the outside cylinders, in combination. (with the well, known modern form of engine bed or frame. In its location the added weight of thecenter cylinder is minimized by the integral construction which will reduce the numberof parts and sur-.

nected together in the usual manner.

' 6, Claims. (01. 105 132) stantial construction for the opening or aperture in the cylinder saddle through which operate the driving mechanism for the crank'axle of the first pair-ofdriving wheels.

Still another object is to provide for the ex! pensive strains induced by the highpressure steam, which have caused some failures in the integral castings of the ordinary type of two cylinder locomotives, especially when combined with the integral bed. This object is-obtained by conducting the live steam to the cylinders by pipingentirely without the casting.

Another object is to provide for the expansive strains and'also any vibration of the center cylinder by the inclusion of an expansion joint located between the-steam chest of the center cyl' inder-and the cylinder saddle. i

1 Still another object is to so attach thecenter cylinder to the front frame rails that allexpansive strains are eliminated or reduced.

Another object is to provide an integral three cylinder casting with extended rear frame' rails to'which' the conventional type of bar or"plate frames may-be attached. Other objects" and advantages will bemor'e apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of the-accompanying drawings nvwhlchg I Fig. 1 is a fragmentary elevation View of the portion of the locomotive showing the cylinders, steam pipes, exhaust pipes and driving mechanism for the center cylinder, attached to the k le; f

F g. 2 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 1;

Fig.3 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 3-3 of'Fig. 2, showing guide and crossh ad'; gtisavertie l tran e e S ion ta n n the line 4--! of Fig. 2"showing the integral bearingpadior'the valve motion rock shaft which transfers the moti n. f om the O i e ent arm to the comb n ti n ever 10. the en al chest;

Fi 5 is. a ragment ry view of the cy inder nd bed c sting; T Fig- 6 isa p iew o th pa shown in Fla 5; s

E 5.- 7 is a vert ca trans e se ct o taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6; I

else-plan iew of a -mod fic ion of the cy indercasting sh wing h c n ecti n to he conventienalherirame;

. Fi 9 a i asmee arv sectiona ele ation Another object is toprovide "a slam -saws. '55 takes oathe line i ef-Fls- 8-.sl ewineenie 9 as they form no part of this invention. More; over it is to be understood that coring, ribbing and various brackets used in theart oficylinder and bed castings form no part of this invention since they are well known to thoseverse'd in the art. v

The two outside cylinders 4, 4 are shown in the usual position, that is directly attached to' tlie' saddle 2, while the center cylinder 5 is located between the .forward rails 6 and], well ahead of the saddle 2.: The driving mechanism of-the outside cylinders is connected to the second pair of driving wheels 8 in the conv'entionalmanner of two cylinder locomotivesand is not shown neither isthe :Walschaert valve gear which is used for all three cylinders, excepting that portion of the valve gear, forthetcenter cylinder, shown generally at 9 Fig. 4, which transfers the motion from the outside, eccentric crank to the inside I steam chest; this portion of the valve gear is shown diagrammatically forclarityby heavy dot and dash lines at 9 Figs. 1 and 2. i

. The driving mechanism of the center cylinder 5 has the usual pistonrod connected to the crosse head l0, through which the'main rod ll operates the crank axle l2 of the first pair :of driving wheels I3; crank pins 54 for the right side and for the left side driving mechanism are shown diagrammatically-spaced at 120 degrees. Crank pins J4 and I5 are connected by forward sections of the connectingrods, not shown; with corresponding crank pins in the second pair of driving wheels 8, thus keeping the. three sets of driving mechanism in synchronism with the. result that the reciprocating forces lbalance each other and no weights need beplaced in the driving wheels to counterbalance these forces, thereby doing away with thedestructive dynamic augment) It is obvious in this design, that a relatively large opening or aperture in the cylinder saddle 2 must be provided forthe driving mechanism of the center cylinder 5 to operate efficiently. In prior art where the center cylinder was located ahead of the side cylinders and the construction was of .the built up;type, the comhinationof bar frame rails, separate cylinder castings, crossties etc. introduced elements of weakness .unlessrnade unusually massive and. expensive to machine. 'By my integral construction a very light and strong arrangement is provided andat the same time a relatively simple casting can be made due to the connection of the front [6 and back" stretcher walls of the cylinder saddle 2 by the longitudinal semi-tubular walls 18 with their top portion horizontal, thus providing ample room forajguide bar [9 in which the crosshead H) can operate;

ample strength is provided by the horizontal bot- 'tom wall 2|! ofthe saddle, which is'reinforced as at 2| Fig. 9. r

Additional strength to thelower portion of the cylinder saddle is provided by the extension of the horizontal bottom wall 20 of -the saddle forward and beneath the center cylinderi tothe point 22 and rearward connecting the lo'wer'por- 4 tion of the bed 3 to the point 23; the upper horizontal wall 24 connects the two side frame members and is carried back to the point 25; points 23 and 25 are determined by the need of clearance for the main rod H of the center cylinder mechanism.

An opening in the front rails 5 and I for servicing the crosshead ill and front end of main rod. It is shown at all, Fig. 5. The front rails 6-1 are inclined-inward in order to provide clearance: for the forward truck wheels 26, this brings the;

. top flange of rail 5 in so close relation to the usual steam ports from the steam chest 21 of the center cylinder 5; as shown at 28 Figs. 6 and 7 that it obviously would be difficult to provide any feasible method of attaching the center cylinder to the front rail'exceptitbe that of an integral casting. It should be noted that the steam chest 2'! is;

' located a substantial distance to one side of the:

center cylinder 5 in order that the operation of the valve g-ear for that cylinder, may not impose: excessive eccentric-and torsional strains on the valve motion rock shaft 9 and its bearing pad 424 In addition to being cast integral "with the front rail 6, cylinder 5 is secured to the bottom horizontal wall plate2ll of the saddle 2 in the same manner and also by the somewhat flexible web plate or bracket 29 to the front rail 1. This provides a strong anchorage for the cylinder and at the same time permits reduction of the expansion strains through the 'fiexure of the web 29 acting in conjunction with front rail 1; to which it is attached midway betweenthe front bumper and saddle 2, d v p Due to the attachment of the center cylinder to thesornewhat more flexible front railstherewill be some vibration of said cylinderin relation to thesaddle' 2; therefore an expansion joint 32,. Fig. l, is inserted in the pipe between the exhaust steam chamber fii'l and the saddle 2. This will also, take care of expansion due to the fluctuating temperature of the exhaust steam. d I v To minimize any expansive strains ih'the'in- ,tegral cylinder and bed casting, all liv'ehig'h pressure steam passages except the. conventional. ones between the steam chests "andcylinders and the inlets to the steam chests have been kept outside -of the casting. {The steam is conductedin the usual manner fromv the boiler through the steam pipes 36-36. to the T.. connections 31-31 of the'steam chests. I To thefront outlets of these T5 are attached the 'steampipes 38--38v leading to the T connection 39 on the steam chest 27 of the center cylinder 5; these two pipes 38 3B also provide a suitable reservoir for the steam supply ;to thecenter cylinder .5, thus reducing fluctuating of the pressure.- a The curvature in pipes 38-38 tak'escare of the expansion. a l v n All of-the exhaust steam passages lead to a common exhaust base '33. Those from the two outside cylinders are of the conventional type. v

I The valve rod for the steam chest valve of the center cylinder and which-is. connected to the valve motion rock shaft Sat 40 must pass through the cylinder saddle 2 ;;therefore -.a tubularpassage M, Fig. 6,'preferably of steel pipe, isprovided. -It must necessarily pass through the exhaust passages 34 in the saddle; these are enlarged at this point to offset the reduction in area due to the pipe This pipe conduit is rolled and expanded in the walls of the exhaust passages to prevent leakage; 1 y

42 is an integral bearing pad for the valve motion-rock: shaft, 43 is an opening inthe'upper bed plate 24 through which the inner portion of the rock shaft operates.

The engine truck is preferably of the six wheel type, the better to carry the extra weight of the center cylinder and for this purpose the location of the truck center plate 44 will generally be ahead of the saddle 2 and integral with the bottom plate 23. When necessary, the bottom rail of the bed may have to be recessed as at 45, Fig. 5, to provide clearance for the back truck wheels 50 when operating on sharp curves.

When locomotives are ordered in small lots, it is often uneconomical to use the full locomotive bed casting as the expense of the design, patterns, core boxes etc. must be borne by only a few locomotives. To meet this condition the modification shown inFigs. 8 and 9 has been developed. This is a method of preserving all the valuable features above described and incorporating them in an integral structure combining the cylinders, saddle, front and rear rails with their horizontal wall plates and at the same time joining said structure to the conventional bar or plate frame (it by a splice, in this instance shown by an extension A! of the bar frame and bolting it to the vertical web 48 of the rear rail extension of the integral cylinder and saddle structure, the numbered parts of which, correspond to those described as applying to the full locomotive bed. A tapered key 49 in shear may add to the security of the splice or connection, the exact form of which may be of any other type and fastened to the integral structure by bolting, riveting or welding or other means and forms no part of the invention.

It will of course be understood that various changes in details of construction and arrangement of parts may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim: 7

1. In combination, an integral three cylinder locomotive structure comprising a boiler and cylinder saddle for the two outside cylinders and their steam chests, a center cylinder and its steam chest, spaced a substantial distance ahead of said boiler and cylinder saddle, front and back frame rails spaced longitudinally apart; a longitudinal opening through said saddle;

driving mechanism for a crank axle, said mechanism operating through said longitudinal opening; all walls of said longitudinal opening formed integrally with the transverse walls of the saddle; a steam chest for the center cylinder, located to one side of the longitudinal center line of the said cylinder and'adjacent one of the front rails; an exhaust chamber for the steam from the steam chest of the center cylinder, formed adjacent said steam chest; said exhaust chamber being located substantially in the same horizontal plane as the said steam chest and also located substantially on the longitudinal center line of the center cylinder; said center cylinder and its steam chest being substantially joined to and incorporated with one of the front rails; a conduit connecting the exhaust chamber of the center cylinder steam chest with the exhaust passage in the cylinder saddle.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1, further characterized in that the conduit connecting the exhaust chamber of the center cylinder steam chest with the exhaust passage in the cylinder saddle, has an expansion joint therein.

3. In combination, an integral three cylinder locomotive structure comprising a boiler and cylinder saddle for the two outside cylinders and their steam chests, a center cylinder and its steam chest, spaced a substantial distance ahead of said boiler and cylinder saddle, the steam chest for said center cylinder having formed iniegral therewith an exhaust chamber, said exhaust chamber being located substantially in the same horizontal plane as the steam chest for the center cylinder and also located substantially in the same longitudinal vertical plane as the center cylinder.

-i. In combination, an integral three cylinder locomotive structure comprising a' boiler and cylinder saddle for the two outside cylinders and their steam chests, a center cylinder and its steam chest, spaced a substantial distance ahead of the said boiler and cylinder saddle, front and back frame rails spaced longitudinally apart; a bottom horizontal plate connecting the lower portions of the said front rails; the center cylinder and its steam chest being substantially joined to and incorporated with one of said front rails and the said bottom horizontal plate.

5. The combination set forth in claim 1, further characterized in that the said back frame rails are joined to bar or plate main frames at a point ahead of the pedestals of the first pair of driving wheels, said juncture being made substantially as shown and described.

6. The combination set forth in claim 1, fur

ther characterized in that the back frame rails,

spaced longitudinally apart, are connected at their top and bottom by horizontal plates, said back frame rails forming the juncture with the bar or plate frames, substantially as shown and described.

EDWARD O. ELLIOTT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 

